What Would You Give?

                                    for David Ray

Slow down, slow down.  Now,
you’re listening to the story
told by a man you don’t know
very well.  It’s about finding
a penny at the bottom
of a bowl of oatmeal, how
the waitress was unashamed,
thought it was funny, lucky even,
and you had to admit no outrage.
You could plainly see
how you and this man weren’t
going to be close.
But you can tell a story too,
so you begin with three of you,
hung over, eating breakfast
at Azar’s in the Public Market.
A girl came in, a pretty girl
dressed for work, a nice hot-weather
frock.  Across from your booth
she sat at the counter, and as she sat,
her dress arranged itself along the back
of the stool so her white panties
were exposed.  None of you could think
how to tell her, so you all ate
a hung-over, distracted breakfast
until she finished her coffee and left.
What would you give to see that again,
have breakfast with those two
both lost in the flow of time?
For that matter, what would you give,
in this age of little wonders,
to find a penny at the bottom
of your oatmeal bowl?